Gamer's Corner: Religion and Gaming, The Final Taboo?

With the imminent release of El Shaddai Rise of the Metatron, Gamer's Corner asks whether there is a place for religion in videogaming; "Clearly, in this day and age it's a huge risk for a publisher/developer to tackle such concepts head on in a video game..without incredibly delicate handling it risks offending and alienating huge populations of people. Resistance Fall of Man caused an upset a few years ago with it's depiction of the desecration of Manchester Cathedral by an invading alien army. It's a certainity that ancient texts contain a wealth of rich material that could be successfully plundered for a video game, the apocalyptic Book of Revelation springs to mind instantly. Nevertheless, is the risk too great for a publisher? Not only could it's profits (prophets?) be hit but also it could put itself in the firing line with fundamentalist groups from a number of different religions. Is that taboo too great a price to pay?"